Modern Quito: Murals, Urban Art and Architecture on Foot

We begin the tour at Spacio Cultural, an independent self-managed project created in Quito in 2019. This space promotes the creation and dissemination of urban art, design, and visual arts, connecting local artists in a creative environment of workshops, exhibitions, and coworking. Here you will learn how the city’s contemporary art scene takes shape and expands through collaboration and innovation.

We visit the La Mariscal Craft Market, one of Quito’s most representative spaces for local handicrafts. Considered an urban version of Otavalo’s Plaza de Ponchos, here you will find textiles, carvings, jewelry, and souvenirs made by Andean hands. You will have free time to explore, compare, and choose unique pieces that reflect Ecuador’s cultural identity.

At this stop we will walk along the emblematic Roca street, between Amazonas and 6 de Diciembre avenues, where singular buildings rise up like something out of a fairy tale. Known as La Mariscal’s “castles,” these buildings reflect the neighborhood’s golden age and its architectural evolution, becoming a unique testimony of modern Quito and its urban identity.

At this stop we will explore the area of 12 de Octubre Ave. and Veintimilla Ave., where old villas and quintas reveal La Mariscal’s urban transformation in the mid-20th century. Here we will also admire a striking mural by Mona Caron, a work that blends nature, resilience, and cultural identity into a powerful visual narrative that brings contemporary Quito to life.

At this stop we will contemplate a remarkable urban artwork located at Salesiana University, where murals become a means of social and cultural expression. Its colors and shapes convey powerful messages of identity, creativity, and reflection, showing how contemporary art in Quito engages in dialogue with its surroundings and with the voices of the community.

At this stop we will walk along Valladolid, Vizcaya, Lugo, Guipúzcoa, and Coruña streets, where La Floresta reveals itself as one of Quito’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Among murals, independent galleries, cozy cafés, and hidden corners, you will discover a living artistic ecosystem that combines urban culture, creativity, and everyday life in an authentic and bohemian setting.

We end the experience at Paccari Experience House, where you will enjoy a guided tasting of chocolate made with fine aroma cocoa, internationally recognized for its quality. In this space you will discover the aromas, flavors, and processes behind one of Ecuador’s most emblematic products, in a perfect finale that celebrates the tradition and excellence of Ecuadorian chocolate.